Bill Gates ‘loved’ Jeffrey Epstein, but his former wife Melinda banned him from speaking with the convicted sex offender, explosive text messages reveal.
Messages from the myriad Epstein files released this month have given an insight into the friendship between the disgraced financier and tech tycoon Gates.
Epstein spoke with Gates’ adviser in 2017 about a venture that never materialized – partly because the Microsoft founder’s former wife wanted them to stop speaking.
‘He wants to talk to you but his wife won’t let him,’ Gates’ adviser told Epstein, per CBS News.
The adviser followed up with a series of text messages, adding that ‘he loves you’, ‘he says hi’, and ‘he feels bad’ about having to abandon their business proposals.
‘He thought great idea but his wife wouldn’t allow,’ the adviser wrote.
Melinda and Bill Gates divorced in August 2021 after 27 years of marriage, and Melinda said his friendship with Epstein was a key factor in their split.
‘I did not like that he had meetings with Jeffrey Epstein, no. I made that clear to him,’ she told Vanity Fair at the time, adding that she met with the convicted sex trafficker ‘exactly one time’.
Bill Gates ‘loved’ Jeffrey Epstein, but his former wife Melinda banned them from speaking, texts reveal (Pictured: Jes Staley, Larry Summers, Jeffrey Epstein, Bill Gates and Boris Nikolic)
Epstein spoke with Gates’ adviser in 2017 about a venture that never materialized – partly because his former wife wanted them to stop speaking. (Pictured: Bill and Melinda Gates)
Gates has never been charged with any crime and denies all allegations of impropriety.
In 2022 he said in a statement to CBS News: ‘Meeting with Epstein was a mistake that I regret deeply. It was a substantial error in judgement.
‘I remain dedicated to my work at the Gates Foundation in partnership with Melinda, where our focus is to help reduce global inequities, giving every person the chance to live a healthy and productive life.’
This is a breaking news story with updates to follow.
